fantasy strategy
the performance of expertise
Strategy in theory and strategy in practice are often completely different exercises. The internet has simply made it harder to tell them apart.
Scroll LinkedIn for 2 mins, and someone is diagnosing why a campaign failed, why a partnership didn’t land or how a brand lost the much-coveted cultural relevance. Open TikTok and there’s another piece of fantasy strategy content explaining what a brand should have done instead things like “If I was CMO of XYZ” and comments like “Call me, [insert brand name].”
The problem I’m seeing is that not all of it holds up once you’ve actually been in the meetings where marketing decisions and alignment happens. Ideas can dramatically change shape once budgets, timelines, creative resources and business priorities are in the mix.
I think this tension sits at the centre of modern marketing culture right now. The line between commentary and capability has become increasingly blurred. Because increasingly, strategy itself has become content.
I’m writing about this with a bit of hesitation. It’s been coming up a lot in conversations I’ve been having lately, here in Sydney but also with friends in London and the US. Partly because, hello, nice to meet you, I participate in the very same ecosystem myself. I write online, post opinions, share cultural commentary, strategic observations and the things I’m noticing in the world of brand marketing.
And look, I understand why this type of content performs. You’ve seen it where it’s like if Crocs x Stanley (or any other brand) did a partnership and makes it seem like the brand has never thought of it. Without opinions, the internet becomes a sea of sameness. I’ve posted opinion-led observations before and watched them outperform nuanced perspectives by a mile. Dramatic conclusions will always travel further than operational complexity online.
And the more I thought about it, the more it felt connected to a wider shift happening online:
AI has flattened access to strategic language and frameworks.
TikTok transformed expertise into entertainment.
LinkedIn increasingly rewards conviction over complexity.
Fractional work and portfolio careers lowered the barriers to positioning yourself as a consultant.
Commentary became a business model.
Visibility started masquerading as credibility.
The creator economy shifted away from aspirational lifestyle influence in search of more expertise, depth and point of view.
And because most brands are understandably guarded around budgets, timelines and internal decision making, the final output has become far more visible than the realities shaping it.
Consumers and marketers see the campaign. They don’t see the retailer pushback, the legal limitations, the commercial trade-offs, the sometimes confusing and changing nature of founder opinions or the budget conversations which reshape the vision and idea behind the scenes.
The constraints are invisible. So the creativity required to work around them becomes invisible, too.
A creator once made a fantasy strategy about a brand I worked on and it eventually made its way back to me as Head of Brand via our CFO, which felt like a fairly perfect encapsulation of modern marketing culture.
This was also the same person who had previously suggested we might consider a collaboration with Taylor Swift which, respectfully, was a touch ambitious given the budget realities we were working with.
The internet has also flattened what “good” looks like. The same brands, campaigns and references circulate repeatedly until they become accepted shorthand for taste itself. Visibility drives legitimacy now.
Which is not to say outside perspectives don’t matter. Some of the most interesting observations come from people adjacent to industries rather than deeply embedded within them. But there is still a difference between recognising patterns and understanding what it takes to execute against them.
We are living through a strange moment where distribution is outrunning experience and where sounding informed online has never been easier to mistake for the real thing.
other things I’ve consumed
I went along to Sydney Writers Festival at the weekend and saw Jacinda Ardern speak - I left feeling so inspired and full of hope for the future and being a woman and a leader - what a woman. It also connected with a word I came across: respaire which has largely fallen out of use, it means hope after a period of hopelessness. I came across it in the latest issue of Mother Tongue and I keep returning to it.
Reading: I always have fiction and non-fiction on the go at the same time, swapping based on mood. Right now it’s John of John alongside Woman’s Work: Reclaiming Radical Mothering, which I cannot recommend enough.
I’m on a panel next week in Sydney talking about brand lore alongside Jessy Wu, hosted by Remi & Bella. Tickets here. Would love to see you there.
And finally, this piece from Spread the Jelly, are you a bad mom for going back to work, has been living in my head. If you work in kids’ brands and you’re not already talking to this community, you should be.
And OBSESSED with Burberry’s star studded good sport campaign.
hi holly is a brand intelligence publication exploring strategy, culture and the brands shaping both. Written by brand consultant Holly Chapman, it’s read by founders, marketers and creative teams building modern brands.
here’s how I can help you:
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I work across brand strategy, partnerships, PR & creative communications and community, helping brands shape cultural relevance, positioning and ideas consumers actually want to engage with.
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For founders and marketing leaders looking for strategic support, outside perspective or an ongoing thought partner across a particular challenge, launch or growth moment.
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Expanding into Australia, the US or the UK and want your brand to feel culturally plugged-in rather than simply present? I’ve helped brands build relevance, partnerships and traction across all three markets and it remains one of my favourite areas to work in
Get in touch: hollyajchapman@gmail.com
So good hol! Can't wait for next week!
love!!!!